Prior to the conception and development of the present invention, as is generally well known in the prior art, mechanical couplers used to couple railroad freight cars and locomotives together have been in existence for many years. Some components of the couplers include a coupler body, a coupler knuckle, a knuckle pin and a lock lift assembly.
Currently, in order to uncouple freight cars, a trainman must manually raise the lock on at least one car using a lever arm, or cut lever, attached to the end of the car. This unlocks the couple knuckle and allows the freight cars to be separated. However, this manual uncoupling of the freight cars is not without several risks of injury to the trainman.
One obvious risk of injury is the physical strain upon the trainman having to lift the cut lever. Another risk relates to the proximity of the trainman to the train line air hose. More specifically, upon separation of the freight cars from each other for a sufficient distance, the air pressure that is left in the train line can cause a whip like action of the air hose. Also, there is a chance that a quick release of air can cause particles of debris to fly.
In view of the above noted health and safety risk factors to railroad personnel, a need exists for an alternative to having the trainman manually lift the cut lever of the coupler's lock lift assembly in order to uncouple the freight cars.